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January 1, 2026, 5:35 PM
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| Stephanie Palazzolo / The Information: |
Sources: OpenAI ramped up efforts to improve its audio AI models, in preparation for its AI-powered personal device, which is expected to be largely audio-based — OpenAI is taking steps to improve its audio AI models, in preparation for its eventual release of an AI-powered personal device, said a person with knowledge of the effort.| Angel Au-Yeung / Wall Street Journal: |
Tech startups have started to offer nicotine pouches as a free perk to employees, as some claim the products help them focus despite health hazards — A nicotine replacement for smokers has started popping up in offices in the tech industry, despite health hazards
More: New York Post and Newser
LinkedIn: Angel Au-Yeung. Bluesky: @diedfrombeing.labeledrude …. Mastodon: @carnage4life@mas.to and @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org. Forums: Slashdot
| Simon Willison / Simon Willison's Weblog: |
Some 2025 takeaways in LLMs: reasoning as a signature feature, coding agents were useful, subscriptions hit $200/month, and Chinese open-weight models impressed — This is the third in my annual series reviewing everything that happened in the LLM space over the past 12 months.
More: Ben Werdmuller, Ars Technica, and Don't Worry About the Vase
Bluesky: @mikehadlow.com, @carnage4life, @daniloc.xyz, @jeremymorrell.dev, and @simonwillison.net
Forums: Hacker News and Lobsters
| Financial Times: |
A look at the rise of AI companionship apps; a researcher found 206 such apps on the App Store and 253 on Google Play, with 220M+ total downloads as of July '25 — The technology is changing the way many people meet and form relationships but some experts believe it may do more harm than good| Reuters: |
Elon Musk says Neuralink plans to start “high-volume production” of brain-computer interface devices and move to an almost automated surgical procedure in 2026 — Elon Musk's brain implant company Neuralink will start “high-volume production” of brain-computer interface devices …
More: The Hans India, Mashable, News9live, New York Sun, The American Bazaar, Business Insider, Livemint, Moneycontrol, Digit, and Eschaton
X: @kskgroup2017, @cathiedwood, @mmjukic, @astrodanish, @elonmusk, @teortaxestex, @checkcanopy, @andrewzywiecmd, @serobinsonjr, @quinnypig, @0xunihax0r, @moneyacademyke, @sovmichael, and @teslaradiox
Bluesky: @t0nyyates, @webrant, @shwshnkdufresne, @hellocullen, @malwarejake, @yermazaguddin, @segfaultvicta.aludel.xyz, @dburbach, @sharonk, @anamusingaddress, @whynotscott, @ktfalvey, @harrymckillen.com, @hushuo, @parismarx.com, @keithfitzgerald, @juniorhoncho, @bumblesnuff, @rowyourbot, @samwhyte, @rowyourbot, @fiddledidi, @lorak, @brienneofsnark, @niedermeyer.online, and @fagankara
Forums: r/RealTesla, r/behindthebastards, r/musked, and r/EnoughMuskSpam
| C.J. Chivers / New York Times: |
Ukraine has become a live-fire test range for AI drones like the Bumblebee, provided by a secretive Eric Schmidt-led venture, raising alarms in Kremlin circles — As the war grinds on, sophisticated Russian defenses have pushed Ukraine to develop a frightening new weapon: semiautonomous killing machines.
More: Fox News, Business Insider, and UPI
| Michael Acton / Financial Times: |
IDC expected Apple to ship just 45,000 units of the Vision Pro in Q4 2025; Sensor Tower said Apple cut digital ad spend for the headset by 95% in 2025 — High prices, limited apps and comfort issues expose difficulty of turning futuristic hardware into a mass-market product
More: iDrop News, iClarified, Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, AppleInsider, Tom's Guide, The Guardian, Newsmax, HotHardware, COINOTAG, and iPhone in Canada
Bluesky: @parismarx.com and @jjaron
| Philosopher Count: |
How AI automation can fulfill Thomas Piketty's predictions on rising economic inequality, and why highly progressive taxes on capital can help slow the spiral — Piketty was wrong about the past. He's probably right about the future. — 1. Introduction
X: @saikatc, @harryh, @jankulveit, @daniel_271828, @krishnanrohit, @besttrousers, @jsevillamol, @mortenstostad, @robinhanson, @t_holden, @erikbryn, @daveg, @dwarkesh_sp, @stevehou, @deepdishenjoyer, @alltheyud, @elocinationn, @garrytan, @garrytan, @briancalbrecht, @pawtrammell, @pawtrammell, @yonashav, @briancalbrecht, @tszzl, @jackwiseman_, @alltheyud, @digeconlab, @mylesudland, @ks_kulk, @dwarkesh_sp, @garrytan, @drydenwtbrown, @dwarkesh_sp, and @dwarkesh_sp. LinkedIn: Viktor Shvets. Bluesky: @tachikoma.elsewhereunbound …
| George Hammond / Financial Times: |
Sources: SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic could IPO in 2026; those three deals alone would exceed the total proceeds from roughly 200 US IPOs in 2025 — Three biggest US private tech groups plan listings as early as this year, raising hopes of windfall for banks, lawyers and investors| Karissa Bell / Engadget: |
Adam Mosseri details trends shaping Instagram and says it'll be more practical to authenticate real media than label AI, as AI gets better at imitating reality — Adam Mosseri says creators should prioritize “unflattering” images to prove they are real. — It's no secret that AI-generated …
More: On my Om, The Verge, Social Media Today, Ben Werdmuller, Implicator.ai, Business Insider, Moneycontrol, KnowTechie, Livemint, HotHardware, The Decoder, Mashable, NDTV Profit, Digit, and The Verge
X: @milkkarten. LinkedIn: Stuart McDonald. Bluesky: @thatoldbear, @ykomska, @mattschrader, @joeuchill, @karissabe, @iansociologo, @brocktoon, @blackamazon, @bwjones, @benmffowler, @sarkastiklover, @chronotope.aramzs.xyz, @mathewolson.com, @danhon.com, @voidfemme, @highway62, @violetsalazar, @thetrudz.photo, @hypervisible.blacksky.app, and @jrosenbaum.com.au
| Song Jung-a / Financial Times: |
Analysts and manufacturers expect smartphone, PC, and consumer electronics prices to rise by as much as 20% in 2026, as AI demand drives up memory chip costs — Manufacturers and analysts warn AI data centre build-out is crowding out market for semiconductors
More: The Irish Times, iPhone in Canada, and Fortune
| Jeff Horwitz / Reuters: |
Internal docs reveal Meta's tactics to fend off pressure to crack down on scammers, including efforts to make scam ads “not findable” for regulators and others — As regulators press Meta to crack down on rogue advertisers on Facebook and Instagram, the social media giant has drafted a “playbook” to stall them.
More: Sherwood News, SiliconANGLE, Digit, Communicate Online, MS NOW, Interesting Engineering, ZeroHedge News, Fast Company, and Anadolu Ajansı …
X: @achimmuellers, @raywilton4, and @zerohedge
Bluesky: @brunojnavarro, @sarwark.org, @andrewlevesque, @romanad, @caseynewton, @jbakcoleman, @migueldeicaza, @worklesshard, @campuscodi.risky.biz, @socialmedialab.ca, @jeffhorwitz, @jeffhorwitz, and @jeffhorwitz
Threads: @andymstone, @andymstone, @andymstone, and @andymstone
Forums: Hacker News, r/cybersecurity, r/neoliberal, and r/technology
| Vincent Chow / South China Morning Post: |
DeepSeek researchers detail a new mHC architecture they used to train 3B, 9B, and 27B models, finding it scaled without adding significant computational burden — DeepSeek has published a technical paper co-authored by founder Liang Wenfeng proposing a rethink of its core deep learning architecture
More: SiliconANGLE and Blockonomi
| Miles Kruppa / The Information: |
Brookfield is launching a cloud company called Radiant and a new $10B AI fund, and plans to acquire up to $100B in land, data centers, and power assets for AI — Private-equity firm Brookfield is starting its own cloud business, going up against tech giants like Amazon by arguing it can bring down the costs of developing AI.
More: SiliconANGLE, Reuters, and Yahoo Finance
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The Upstarts Podcast:
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Robinhood's CEO on letting AI trade your money
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